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Sunday, February 20, 2011

Well...here goes nothing!

Welcome to the world of MFS Ceramics! This blog will hopefully be turned into a website one day but for now this will have to do.

How I got involved in ceramics is a bizarre series of events. While studying business at Loyola University Chicago, I had to take this dreaded art requirement. I must have talked to 100 people about which class would be least likely to screw up my GPA and take up all my time! A lot of my friends took ceramics and assured me that it might be time consuming but it would be offset by the fact that I should get an A and the time consuming part was sort of fun and gave me 24/7 access to the studio. And so it began.

So apparently I am competitive. After getting a B+ on my first assignment, which I thought was of A+ quality, I got pissed off at the teacher and decided I would show him what pottery is. Everything else I did that semester was ridiculous and large and crazy but I got an A. The final project, a Buddha, sitting 18 inches tall and 18 inches wide sits on my dresser and reminds me everyday that while it has good craftsmanship, the wheel and functional ware are actually the direction I should take.

So fast forward through my undergrad and I ended up minoring in Ceramics, spending hours and hours and hours in the studio, and realizing that people like buying stuff made by other people.

In late 2007, my great Aunt Sally was diagnosed with a brain tumor and passed away shortly thereafter. She never knew that I had become so involved in pottery or that I would be inheriting her supplies. Reflecting back on her work and using her tools inspires me everyday that life is short and you should do what you love.

It has been such a blessing to inherit a kiln and potters wheel. What I got would have totaled well over $3000 were I to buy it today. And there is no way as a student and young professional desperately seeking employment that I could have equipped myself with such things. Now it sits in my garage and beckons me to come out.

Life changes have pushed me in a direction to pursue what I love again. Something that fills me and makes me whole. Pottery is part if this. Thus, I am pushing myself headfirst at full speed. I currently have ample free time due to an easy course load and waiting for graduation. There is a good chance that after graduation I will have even more free time so why not? People want my stuff and I am going to give it to them!